Hingeless ventilator



March 12, 1968 D. A. KELLY HINGELESS VENTILATOR Filed April 19, 1966 Inventor:

24 aniel llcott Kelly his Attorney United States Patent O 3,372,531 HINGELESS VENTiLATOR Daniel Allcott Kelly, Salem, Va., assigner to Graham- White Sales Corporation, Salem, Va., a corporation of Virginia Filed Apr. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 543,737 7 Claims. (Cl. 98-2) This invention relates to hingeless ventilators.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an improvement in a hingeless ventilator whereby a tensile force by which a closure member is held in a selected position on its seat, is so applied as substantially to relieve the closure member of bending stresses.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a hingeless ventilator an improved tensioning means whereby a tensile force for holding a closure member in a selected position on its seat is enabled to be applied substantially centrally of the closure member without a corresponding connection thereto, thereby not only substantially relieving the closure member of bending stresses but permitting the opening to be screened without central slotting of the screening.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the apended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a hingeless ventilator ini corporating a preferred embodiment of the improved tensioning means of the present invention, showing the ventilator mounted in an apertured wall;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along lines 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the structure of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the hingeless ventilator to which the improved tensioning means of the present invention preferably is applied, is generally similar to those disclosed iu Kelly et al. Patent No. 3,102,464, issued Sept. 3, 1963 and application Ser. No. 501,204, led Oct. 22, 1965. Thus, like those of the prior disclosures, the illustrated hingeless ventilator 1 has a closure member, cover or door 2 mounted on the outside of a wall 3 of a truck cab or other compartment (not shown) and swingable from within, suitably against a frame 4 lixed to the wall, for opening and closing an opening 5 in the frame. Generally rectangular in plan, the preferred closure member 2 has an instanding peripheral skirt or flange 6 which in the members closed position surrounds or encircles an outstanding lip or flange 7 on the frame 4 about the opening 5 and, during swinging of the member, coacts with the lip to substantially lix the axis or axes about which the member swings. To produce a weathertight seal, the closure member 2 preferably is fitted with a liner or pad 8 of rubber or like resilient material against which the outer edge of the outstanding lip 7 seats when the closure member is closed.

For holding the closure member 2 seated against the outside of the frame 4 over its range of positions relative thereto, there are welded or otherwise iixed or secured to the inside of the base ilange 9 of the frame 4 at opposite ends of the opening 5, a pair of identical or counterpart guide brackets or members 10. Instanding substantially normal to the base flange 9 and centered laterally on and aligned longitudinally of the frame 4, the guide brackets 10 conveniently are bent or stamped from flat bar stock. As their inner faces, the guide brackets 10 present identical or counterpart guideways 11, preferably divided laterally into two cylindrically concave parts or sections 12, each substantially concentric with and struck about the opposite swinging axis of the closure member 2, which, in the illustrated ventilator, is substantially at the juncture of the lip 7 and base flange 9 at the far side of the frame. Between the cylindrical sections 12, the guideways 11 have at their lateral centers or apices cylindrically concave seats 13. A guide or positioning bar or rod 14 spans or extends longitudinally across the opening S and rides or slides at its ends on the guideways 11.

For applying its movements along the guideways 11 to the closure member 2, the positioning rod 14 is connected to the closure member by a pair of longitudinally spaced lever arms 15 which are iixed or secured to or rigid with the inner face 16 of the closure member and instand or extend inwardly therefrom through the opening 5. Preferably disposed substantally parallel to each other and normal to and adjacent opposite ends of the inner face 16, the arms 15 receive the positioning rod 14 inwardly of its ends in slots 17 which are elongated longitudinally of the arms.

The improvement of this invention resides in the manner in which a tensile force is applied between the closure member 2 and the guide brackets 10 to pull the closure member inwardly against the frame and hold it in a selected position relative thereto. As in the above-mentioned patent and application, the tensile, holding or positioning force is applied to the guide brackets 10 through the positioning rod 14, with the diiference that the force is ceutered longitudinally on the rod and divided or distributed equally between the brackets, even though the rod and closure member are connected only through the arms 15. It is the absence in the ventilator of a direct central connection between the rod and the closure member that by freeing the closure member of central bending stresses prevents it from inwardly bulging or dimpling and also permits the opening 5 to be screened without central slotting of the screening.

For obtaining the required tensile force without connecting the positioning rod 14 and closure member 2 except through the arms 15, the latter are bridged, spanned or connected outwardly of the positioning rod and intermediate or between the latter and the closure member by a tensioning orA reactance rod 18, which, while lixable at its ends t0 the arms, preferably is releasably connected or anchored thereto against axial and radial shifting, as by providing the rod with necked ends 19 slidably inserted or received in apertures 20 of substantially the same cross-section in the arms. Axially spaced and disposed substantially parallel to each other and the inner face 16 of the closure member 2, the positioning and tensioning rods 14 and 18 are connected intermediate the arms 15 and preferably at their longitudinal centers by a connector, link or tie 21, which, depending on its form and that of the rods, is either directly or indirectly responsible for the tensile force exerted between the closure member and the guide brackets 10.

-In any case preferably centered on the tensioning rod 18 and holding the positioning rod 14 centered on the arms 15, as by centrally notching or grooving both rods to receive it, as indicated at 22, the connector 21 may be rigid or resilient and in either case longitudinally aidjustable to vary the radial spacing between the rods centers. In their turn, the positioning and tensioning rods 14 and 18, lthe former shiftable longitudinally of the arms in the slots 17 and the latter substantially iixed against such shifting, can both be rigid, with the tensile force derived from the resilience of the connector 21, or one or both can be llexible, as by being made of spring steel or like material, with bowing of one or each toward the other by a rigid connector depended on for the tensile force. In the illustrated embodiment both of the rods are flexible and the connector 21 is a rigid connector, link or tie plate apertured to be slid onto the rods into its center position in which it is engaged in the notches 22, and having its apertures 23 so spaced relative to the end spacing of the rods as to bow the rods toward each other, with the bowing suchy for the predetermined flexibility of the rods as to produce the tensile force required to hold the closure member in selected position.

The positioning rod 14 may serve as a handle for swinging the closure member 2 between open and closed positions and to any intermediate position. However, as illustrated, it usually will be more convenient to form the arms 15 as part of a bail 24 havin-g a connecting web 25 projecting inwardly beyond and substantially paralleling the positioning rod, and use the web as a handle for swinging the closurev member.

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved hingeless ventilator which applies a tensile force through a positioning rod centrally between a closure member and guide brackets without a direct central connection between the rod and the member. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. in a hingeless ventilator for Ventilating a compartment through an opening in a wall thereof, the ventilator having a closure member swingable against a side of said wal-lv for opening andv closing said opening, spaced guide means fixed to and instanding from a side of said wall opposite said first-named side, guide rod means riding on said guide means, and spaced arm means iXed to said closure member and extending through said opening connecting saidV guide rod means to said closure member, the improvement comprising means spaced from said guide rod means and closure member and bridging said arm means therebetween, and means connecting said guide rod' means and bridging means intermediate said arm means for producing a tensile force for urging said guide rod means and closure member' respectively against said guide means and said wall and thereby holding said closure member in a selected position.

2. An improvement in a hingeless ventilator according to claim 1, wherein the guide rod means is a guide rod shiftable longitudinally of the arm means, the bridging means is a reactance rod connected against longitudinal shifting to the arm means, and the connecting means connects the rods substantially at their longitudinal centers.

3. An improvement in a hingeless ventilator according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the rods is ilexible and the tensile force is produced by bowing of said one rod toward the other rod.

4. An improvement in a hingeless ventilator according to claim 2, wherein the connecting means is positioned substantially at the longitudinal center of the rods by engagement with notches therein.

5. An improvement in a hingeless ventilator according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the rods is flexible, the connecting means is an apertured tie plate, and the tensile force is produced by bowing of said onc rod intermediate said arm means toward the other rod.

6. An improvement in a hingeless Ventil tor according to claim 5 wherein the reactance rod is the flexible rod.

7. An improvement in a hingeless ventilator according to claim 2, wherein the connecting means is centered between the arm means by the reactance rod and centers the guide rod thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,412,613 4/1922 Henvis 93-2.l 1,937,952 12/1933 Galamb 98-2.l 2,443,454 6/1948 Hennessy 98-2.l 2,514,772 7/1950 Kramer 98-2.l

MEYER PERLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A HINGELESS VENTILATOR FOR VENTILATING A COMPARTMENT THROUGH AN OPENING IN A WALL THEREOF, THE VENTILATOR HAVING A CLOSURE MEMBER SWINGABLE AGAINST A SIDE OF SAID WALL FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID OPENING, SPACED GUIDE MEANS FIXED TO AND INSTANDING FROM A SIDE OF SAID WALL OPPOSITE SAID FIRST-NAMED SIDE, GUIDE ROD MEANS RIDING ON SAID GUIDE MEANS, AND SPACED ARM MEANS FIXED TO SAID CLOSURE MEMBER AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENING CONNECTING SAID GUIDE ROD MEANS TO SAID CLOSURE MEMBER, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING MEANS SPACED FROM SAID GUIDE ROD MEANS AND CLOSURE MEMBER AND BRIDGING SAID ARM MEANS THEREBETWEEN, AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID GUIDE ROD MEANS AND BRIDGING MEANS INTERMEDIATE SAID ARM MEANS FOR PRODUCING A TENSILE FORCE FOR URGING SAID GUIDE ROD MEANS AND CLOSURE MEMBER RESPECTIVELY AGAINST SAID GUIDE MEANS AND SAID WALL AND THEREBY HOLDING SAID CLOSURE MEMBER IN A SELECTED POSITION. 